Hi guys!
I'm starting to see a religious war on the horizon, and we're
NOT going to do that here.
There have been a few valid points made, but the tone
looks like it could get loud in a few more posts... Let's ALL be grown-ups and have an amiable discussion as opposed to a war between the I-Cult and the PC People. We're all adults here.
There are pros and cons to every OS.
Here's my take on things:
Briansgi (and I
knew what his handle meant.
) made some excellent points.
In a production environment where everything
HAS to work
ALL the time, Unix is superior. Once properly set up, your systems will run flawlessly until you have a hardware failure.
NOTHING is more stable. For those who didn't know, Linux is an open source derivative of Unix.
Another advantage of Linux / Unix is that it runs fast on modest hardware.
You don't need to replace your machines every time a new version comes out.
And as far as graphics go, I remember in the 90s that the SGI was the Holy Grail of power and processing in the graphics and animation world... It was good for everything else too.
Bobby H also had some valid points:
Since Unix is not really geared to the home user, there is a serious lack of applications available to the casual and semi-professional user.
Linux is a more friendly Unix like OS, but it too, sorely lacks in some application areas because of it's small market share. While there are many Open Source versions of popular applications, most of the big software companies do not make Linux native versions of their applications, and running them in emulation mode or on a virtual machine is not sufficient in a commercial environment. Sometimes there's nothing like the
real thing.
But if you want to get down to where the cheese binds, for the average user, you're going to pay more for MAC hardware. You're going to have fewer choices of everyday apps than you would in Windows (because MS has the biggest market share) and they're going to be more expensive.
Quite frankly, a MAC is no harder or easier to use, it's just different. Everyone has their own preference.
Also for those who didn't know, MAC's OS-X is built on top of BSD (another Unix derivative) with many UI enhancements.
Windows currently has the biggest market share thanks to MS's marketing and predatory business practices. That said, no software company can go wrong writing Windows apps. You can do just about anything you want on it.
There are a few cons though...
You get very little out of the box without buying a lot of apps.
The stability is only so-so for the average user.
The OS is SO bloated that you need BIG hardware to make it run at a reasonable speed, especially in the case of Vista.
The security is
ABYSMAL, you need to get at least three 3rd party utilities to keep the nasties out of your machine. And yes, there are MANY, MANY more nasties written to kill your Windows because Trojan and virus writers
also go after the biggest market share.
If MAC or Linux were king, people would start writing malware for those also...
The difference is that Unix / Linux would survive it a LOT better because of its user structure. It's more secure. The rule here is "Least Rights Required" to perform your tasks. Even if you're a goofy user, visiting evil sites and installing malware, the rights hierarchy will not allow a single user to blow up the machine and render it un-bootable.
For those who say "Well, you can have Administrators and Users in Windows", I submit to you: Try using your Windows box as a Limited User for a week, and see how much hair you have left afterwards.
All that being said, it IS possible to run Windows trouble-free...
If you REALLY know what you're doing.
When it comes to an OS, the perfect one for you depends on what you use your computer for.... PERIOD.
And all of you need to stop calling Synop a Linux fanboy!
He's finally been able to try something he's always wanted to try, and he's liking it because it's shiny, new and exciting for him, and his machine is now performing twice as well as it did under Vista. For his uses, it will fit the bill very nicely.
Computers and OS's are tools... Not a religion!
Let's keep the tone friendly here and have a nice, enlightening discussion.
Can I get an Amen?